Having “odor compatibility” with a friend or partner often relates to subconscious connections.

Here’s what it means, and when it matters.

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Why does body odor affect compatibility with platonic friends and romantic partners?

But somehow this genetic similarity does happen among friends, and one potential route is through olfactory signals.

How important is odor compatibility with friends and romantic partners, both initially and long-term?

Two people’s legs touch under a table as they work on their laptops.

graduate student at the Weizmann Institute of Science

And on the flip side, loving a partners smell could be just as positively associated with relationship longevity.

and how much theyre exposed to it, which researchers suspect may actually increase relationship commitment.

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Books on grief are seen floating against a backdrop of clouds.

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Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon, and Leslie Bibb in The White Lotus, symbolizing toxic friendships.

graduate student at the Weizmann Institute of Science

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Courtesy Berkley Publishing